the Gospel of st.Thomas???

Question

why is it so hated by christians and chatholics?

but if it is true,would it not be in the churches best intrest to denounce it?,i'm not being smart,just want to see all sides

Answer 1

I don't know that I would call the book "hated". But it is rejected by the Christian churches. The first copy was not found until 1940's. Once it was found, they were able to match two small fragments each with a verse or two with the book, that had been known since the early 1800's, but no one knew what book they were from (not enough to tell).

Just because a book mentions Jesus, or claims to reveal his teachings does not automatically make it "scripture". I doubt that anyone will be adding Dan Brown's "DaVinci Code" to their next Bible translation. Because we know that it is a work of fiction that dates long after the time of the New Testament and not written by anyone who would have special knowledge about Jesus. The same is true of the gospel of Thomas.

The book was a fake that first appeared about a century and half after the time of Jesus. It was denounced at the time, and has never been recognized by any Christian group as a sacred writing.

If you read the book, you will find that it is a pretty standard gnostic gospel, which teachings salvation by "special revelation" (similar to the "dreamquest" of American Indians) rather then by faith in Christ. A heresy that appeared in the mid second century, the gnostics produced several "gospels" of Jesus. You will find warnings against those books in the writings of the early church fathers. You will also find the author of the book, one of the disciples of heretic Marcion, listed by the church fathers.

Stating the historical facts about the books is not "hatred", but just making sure people know the truth about it.

Answer 2

I didn't realize that it was.
Christian scholars are the people who brought us the Gospel of Thomas, Christian theologians are the first to even mention the otherwise unknown work, and Christian scribes are the ones who preserved the text for future generations. The only problem Christians typically have with the book is when people try to claim it was authentic, or that it was "removed" from the Bible. In fact it is a 3rd century Gnostic forgery that was virtually unknown outside of Alexandria.

Answer 3

I don't believe that it is hated by Christians. I read it several times-it is considered Apocrypha and so is not included in the Roman Catholic doctrine because is was considered to be heretical back in the early beginnings of the church. Truth of the matter is, that now along with the other 30 or so Gnostic gospels, they may be older and closer to the original words of Jesus than the other accepted gospels in the New Testament. Either way, its all good-it brings us closer to Him.

Answer 4

I love that Gospel and i am a Christian The Gospel of Thomas is real.

P.S. The Gospel Thomas 114 is saying that Mary is equivalent to Men, now that Jesus is here

Answer 5

A complete copy of the so-called Gospel of Thomas was discovered in 1945. Once scholars had a copy of the whole thing, it was possible to see it for what it was: yet another gnostic-influenced "gospel" written in the second or third century, long after the canonical gospels were penned.

The Gospel of Thomas presents itself as a collection of sayings of Christ as written by Thomas the apostle. A few of these sayings are genuine because they were taken from the canonical gospels (duh!). Others combine bits of things said in the true gospels. And still others are wholly made up, not only lacking any basis in the gospels but also contradicting things taught in them.

Consider, for example, the final saying Thomas contains: "Simon Peter said to them, ‘Make Mary leave us, for females don’t deserve life.’ Jesus said, ‘Look, I will guide her to make her male, so that she too may become a living spirit resembling you males. For every female who makes herself male will enter the kingdom of heaven’" (Thomas 114).

This is just wacky. Jesus was a great respecter of women as women (i.e., without them having to become like men). After all, as the Creator, he himself had "made them male and female" (Matt. 19:4). And so whether one is a man or a woman makes no difference in salvation. As St. Paul said, "There is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus" (Gal. 3:28).

The so-called Gospel of Thomas is a fake. It was written between one and two centuries after the apostle Thomas’s death. It contains some authentic sayings of Jesus because it is partially based on the canonical gospels. It contains a bunch of stuff that is silly. It wasn’t written under divine inspiration. It doesn’t belong in the Bible.

Answer 6

I don't think it is hated. It is just in that category of books that can't be proven divine. at least by a group of humans..It is read and studied. I think more so by Catholics than Protestants.
As to the line about Mary and changing her sex...It was a pun the word for soul is feminine.. He was slamming his own disciples for being sexist..Ok..So she has no (feminine soul)..I will make her (feminine soul) masculine for her to get in...

Answer 7

Maybe its the part where Jesus said he will make Mary a male and give her male parts so she could go to heaven.